New Delhi: The 1st Robo Expo 2008 organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) concurrent to the 9th Auto Expo, has witnessed the launch of a number of new Robots. The Robo Expo, being held from 10-17 January at the Andhra Pavilion, Pragati Maidan showcases world leaders of Robotics & Automation such as ABB Ltd, Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz, Kuka, Motoman Motherson Robotics Ltd, Panasonic, Precision Automation & Robotics India Ltd (PARI), Rhythmsoft and Rockwell amongst others.

While speaking at the inaugural of the Robo Expo, Dr. V.Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) complimented CII’s effort in organising the Robo Expo. “Personal safety and enhanced productivity are becoming increasingly important for the manufacturing sector. These require enhanced effort in the area of robotics and automation,” said Dr. Krishnamurthy.

Mr. V.Govindarajan, Member Secretary, NMCC said, “The immense range of application possibilities that robotics offer can be seen at the Robo Expo”. There are robots with applications in entertainment, sports, productivity improvement and industrial use here at the Expo, he added.

Mr. Rajive Kaul, Past President, CII highlighting the increasing importance of the Robotics and Automation industry, said “according to industry estimates, 2008 onwards, the world market for industrial robots is projected to rise by an yearly average of 4.2% going up to 139,300 units in 2010”. In India the industry is expected to grow at 2-2.5 times the global average, said Mr. Kaul.

Dr. Surinder Kapur, Chairman, CII Innovation Mission said “it is heartening to see that of the 11 Robotics companies at the Robo Expo, 5 are Indian companies”. It is the small steps being taken by the Indian companies that would ensure that they are able to retain their rightful place in the global manufacturing industry, he added. Dr Kapur further complimented Hi Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd. who launched their indigenously developed Humanoid called NEEL.

“NEEL is capable of doing obstacle avoidance through stereovision and also recognizing human faces. It can also interact with humans through speech”, said Mr. Deep Kapuria, Managing Director, Hi Tech Robotics. The company has also launched the Advance Driver Assistive System (ADAS), which would help enhance road safety, Intellicart for material handling which integrates patented VBL technology and Robotic Vision, which is a vision sensor that can be integrated into any robotic arm for quality inspection of manufacturing components.

ABB Ltd. Robotics Division is launching two systems for India at the Expo. “These include “Flex Arc”, a modular manufacturing welding cell and a small painter called IRB 52 to cater to general industry for example plastic component manufacturers, 3C market etc.”, said Mr. Anil Chaudhry, Assistant Vice President and Head, Sales Robot Automation, ABB.

While highlighting some strengths of the company, Mr. Raj Singh Rathee, Managing Director, Kuka Robotics (India) Pvt Ltd, said “KUKA is the only robotics company in the world supplying robots to the entertainment and medical sector. We are also the only company with the highest number of robots variants, going up to 280. Our robot named Titan offers the highest payload, upto 1000 kgs and has figured in the Guinness Book of World Records”. KUKA is one of the largest suppliers of industrial robots in the world.

Rhythmsoft Robotics & Automation Pvt Ltd, a fast growing company from Nashik has made its mark in Robotic automation by successfully completing turn key BIW projects “XENON” and PHOENIX” for Tata Motors alongwith KUKA. “By the end of the 1st quarter of 2008, we will showcase our strength in tandem press line automation and complete two turnkey press automation projects”, said Mr. Pritish Chandratre, Managing Director, Rhythmsoft.

Precision Automation and Robotics India (PARI) is inviting visitors to take the “golf challenge” against their Golfing Robot. This robot plays golf with an accuracy of upto 97%. The idea is to demonstrate the accuracy of PARI systems while the visitors have some fun.

1st Robo Expo, 2008 will in future become an annual event of the CII Mission for Innovation. The Expo has received an overwhelming response from the industry with most large manufacturers of the world participating in the event. A Robo Conference, which will be held on January 14-15 will provide platform to the participants to network with and learn from the experts and practitioners in Robotics and Automation